Immune Boost Bars can help prevent flu

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. Adding immune-boosting foods to a diet can help prevent contracting the flu, and eFoodSafety.com is helping that effort with its new Immune Boost Bar.

The biotech company, which develops nutraceutical and whole-food products, has packed the bars with such immuninty-boosting supplements as natural citrus oils, vitamins and a blend of minerals and electrolytes.

The bars feature such flavors as chocolate, chocolate mint, peanut butter and oatmeal cinnamon raisin, so are designed to be tasty and convenient, while helping prevent illness with 40 active compounds that assist with enhancing immunity, detoxification, cleansing and metabolic efficiency.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the flu season in the United States can last from November to as late as May. Each year in the United States the contagious respiratory illness affects between 5 percent and 20 percent of the population; more than two hundred thousand people are hospitalized from flu complications and approximately 36,000 people die from the disease.

Such foods as the Immune Boost bars are among the ways to avoid contracting the flu, according to health experts, as are are washing one’s hands after riding public transportation, avoiding hand contact with one’s nose and eyes and promptly discarding facial tissues after use.

Valentine’s Day increases chocolate sales

NEW YORK The one thing most people expect on Valentine’s Day is the classic box of chocolates. The Nielsen Co. agrees, and due to a report released recently, the company predicts that U.S. consumers will purchase an estimated $323 million in chocolate candy this week.

Based on supermarket sales, top cities that sell chocolate are Atlanta, Denver, Cincinnati, Louisville, Houston and Dallas. According to Nielsen, chocolate, which is ranked number one for chocolate candy sales, is not the only purchase that is expected to be increasing this Valentines Day. The report also stated that more pregnancy and infertility test kits are sold approximately 6 weeks after Valentines Day than any other time of the year.

In addition, sales of sparkling wine are higher on Valentine’s Day as well as premium-priced rose wine, which according to the company signifies that Valentine’s Day is indeed a holiday during which consumers choose to splurge.

CHFA disputes report that new law will lead to deceptive labeling

TORONTO The Canadian Health Food Association on Tuesday took exception to a Globe and Mail report published Monday that suggested dietary supplement manufacturers will soon be able to run roughshod over Health Canada in making disease state claims on behalf of dietary supplements.

“The changes to the federal rules, which take effect June 1, represent a significant boost for the natural health industry, which is eager to increase its credibility and capitalize on a booming market for vitamins and botanical supplements by directly marketing their health claims to consumers,” Carly Weeks writes for the Globe and Mail. “But medical experts and consumer advocates warn the federal government’s decision could result in a flood of deceptive claims about natural health products that are backed up by inadequate or even flawed scientific evidence.”

“The article … misinformed the reader into thinking Health Canada was at the mercy of natural health product manufacturers,” complained CHFA president and chief executive officer Penelope Marritt in a letter-to-the-editor, addressed to the Globe and Mail, and posted on the association’s web site. “Nothing could be further from the truth.”

At question are some revisions made to Canada’s Food and Drug Act that will allow manufacturers to apply to Health Canada to make claims they have not been able to make in the past, such as “helps in the prevention of cancer,” for example. “Modifying Schedule A gives natural health product suppliers the ability to apply to Health Canada to make treatment, prevention and/or cure claims for certain disorders and diseases,” Marritt wrote. “Natural health suppliers must continue to meet product licensing requirements under the Natural Health Products Regulations and at the same time, continue to substantiate any preventative claim with sufficient levels of evidence.”

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